Kountze Councilman Ira Braneff is facing a second felony theft charge after he allegedly pocketed more than $2,000 for a headstone he never delivered.

Braneff, the owner and salesman for Big Thicket Memorials, bonded out of the Hardin County jail on July 13 after confessing to pocketing more than $3,000 from a mother who paid him to purchase a gravestone for her son, police said.

In the most recent offense, Braneff is accused of selling a headstone to a man on Feb. 21 and telling him he would contact him in "a couple of months" to confirm the monument's delivery, according to a probable cause affidavit in the case.

The man gave Braneff a check in February for $2,475 and the money was withdrawn from his account during the same month.

The man said he has not been contacted by Braneff since he purchased the monument, according to the affidavit.

When he called the funeral home that had contracted Braneff, he was told there was no record of the sale.

A Texas Ranger investigating Braneff contacted two known monument companies and found that no order for the monument had been placed, the affidavit showed.

In the first incident, Braneff charged Keiron Edwards's mother $3,125 on Feb. 14 for a monument for her late son, an affidavit in that case showed.

She ordered the piece to honor Edwards, a Kountze High School student killed in a January along with friend Savion Smith, 16, when a vehicle struck the 2001 Kia Optima they were riding in as passengers.

Braneff told the mother the gravestone would take from eight to 10 weeks to be delivered, according to the document.

After the 10-week period, the mother contacted Braneff, who gave various reasons for the delay, including weather and transportation issues.

The Texas Ranger conducting the investigation contacted SuperNova International Inc., the monument company, but representatives said that though the gravestone was ordered on Feb. 14, no payment had been submitted.

Braneff told Silsbee police that he never submitted the payment to SuperNova International, but transferred it to his personal business bank account.

Braneff could face up to two years behind bars and a fine up to $10,000 if convicted.His bail posted on July 13 totaled $10,000.